Vernon Treweeke

Who is Vernon Treweeke?

Vernon Treweeke is an Australian psychedelic artist. He has been termed the "father of psychedelic art in Australia". In the late 1960s he was deemed to be "Australia's leading practitioner of abstract eroticism." He is married to Riri Treweeke and has five children, including his sons Luke, born in 1967, whose mother is the Australian Artist Wendy Paramor, Swift, born 1980, a musician, a fellow painter, and a label owner, and Julian, also a musician, both of which he has been known to collaborate with.

His work is held in various Australian and international collections, including the National Gallery of Australia and the National Gallery of Victoria.

Treweeke grew up in Sydney, Australia. He attended boarding school at Scots School in Bathurst where he became a close friend of Brett Whiteley. From 1957 to 1959 he studied painting, drawing and sculpture at the Australian National Art School under John Passmore and Lyndon Dadswell. In 1961 He travelled to London via India and France. Whilst in London in 1962 he was included in the prestigious "Young Commonwealth Artists" exhibition that toured Germany, France and England. While in London he associated with many expatriate Australian artists including Michael Johnson, Tony McGillick and Wendy Paramor, and the English artists, David Hockney and Patrick Caulfield.